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Monday, February 6, 2017

International Snow Sculptures in Breckenridge, Colorado

On a beautiful sunny day last week my husband and I and oldest granddaughter, plus some friends, drove up to Breckenridge, Colorado to view the 27th annual International Snow Sculptures.

All photos in this post will enlarge if clicked on, for easier viewing of details.

When we first moved to Colorado four years ago one of the first things we did was to visit the Ice Castle in Breckenridge--see this post--but since that attraction is no longer available, most likely seeing the annual Snow Sculptures will become a tradition for us.

This year, International Snow Sculpture Championship was sponsored by Toyota and the sculpturing began January 24-28. Public viewing took place January 28-February 5th, 2017. The abundant warm Colorado sunshine begins to deteriorate the snow sculptures after they are completed, even if the air temperature is cold, so viewing time is limited.

The inaugural International Snow Sculpture Championships began in 1991 in the ski town of Breckenridge, and over the years the reputation of the event grew and it attracted many competitors from around the world. The applicants submit drawings and the theme of the sculptures they hope to make and the top design teams, consisting of four members for each team, are chosen from those applications.

The chosen team of artists from each country are required to use only hand tools to carve their design from a 20 + ton cube of snow that measures 10 by 10 by 12 feet tall. The teams do not compete for cash prizes, instead they are given first, second and third places medallions, and ribbons. The artists are given a stipend to help cover their travel expenses and are provided with lodging and meals during the competition. It is definitely pride in their artistry, and the thrill of being chosen to compete, that motivates the teams!

The snow sculptures are located in the area around the Breckenridge Riverwalk Center, at 150 West Adams Avenue. During the sculpting week visitors to the event can vote for the People's Choice by giving a dollar donation for one vote. The money goes towards supporting the International Snow Sculpture Championships.

USA Breckenridge sculpture was entitled "Life Saver," and depicts the National Ski Patrol, first established in 1938. It won the "Kids Choice Award" from votes from children who came to see the exhibit.

Mexico -- Xiuhmolpilli -- The Prehispanic Century

Team Sweden won the Silver Medal with their "4(Ever) Wheels Reflection." This sculpture depicted two cars tied together, and expression of both freedom and dependency.
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Turkey -- Wormholes of the Universe

USA Loveland -- Square Root

Team Mongolia-Erdene won the Bronze Medal for "We are One Family." This sculpture reflected the idea of animals coexisting with humans and nature. This sculpture also tied with Mongolian-Tserendash sculpture below.

The second tie "Artist Choice" winner was this sculpture entitled "Before It's Too Late, Protect Earth From Today." This reflected the idea that protection of the earth and its animals are in our hands. This snow sculpture also won the "People's Choice" award from votes from visitors to the exhibit.

Great Britain -- Spiritual Beasts of the North Wind

USA- Vermont -- (What's Your) Sine Wave

Finland -- The Swan of Tuonela

Team China won the Gold Medal with their sculpture entitled "Mermaid" that depicted a mermaid swimming underwater among fish.

USA - Wisconsin -- Transcendence

Germany -- Process of Adaptation

Iceland --Ancestry in Ice

India-Callisto -- The Making

Italy -- Stop!

This sculpture of a Snow Cat Truck was built as an extra non judged sculpture by the staff for children to go inside and slide down a snow slide. Obviously, this was our granddaughter's favorite sculpture of all!I enjoyed seeing all the sculptures and could not pick one favorite, although I thought quite a few were exceptional. Did you see one that you particularly liked?

After viewing the International Snow Sculptures we had lunch in town with our friends before we returned home. Breckenridge is a pretty town to visit any time of the year, and you can see more about it on my blog on this postwhen we visited it for the first time, or when we visited with relatives in the summer and went down the alpine slide and hiked on one of the mountain tops onthis post, or when we went for a sleigh ride on this post, or this past summer when we again visited the town with relatives and I also met a fellow blogger who lives in Breckenridge. As you can see, we love Breckenridge!

50 comments:

I really enjoyed my visit to Breckenridge with you this morning, what a wonderful day out it was. Although the Chinese sculpture deserved to win I think my own Favourite was the one from Iceland.Happy Mosaic Monday!

Wow! Wow! Wow! Incredible talent! I think my favorite was the Before it's too late... but, then the mermaid swimming! And, the... and, the... LOL! Thank you so much for sharing these with us, Pat. Amazing sculptures!

I've only been to Breckenridge once long ago and I remember it as a wonderful place to visit. I might need to put it on the list. ;) Wonderful photo of you, hubby and oldest granddaughter! =) blessing ~ tanna

I love the idea of artists working in different mediums. Ice sculptures are all the more amazing because of their certain future - melted! China's is so intricate, but for whimsy, I like the 4(ever) Wheel sculpture. Sounds like you had a great day!

Too hard to pick a favorite ... although I really liked any with a lizard or dragon! :) I bet this was a lot of fun and wonderful that it was an international competition. Some very talented folks. Happy Monday!

Pat, you and your family enjoy the most wonderful activities! I love the creativity of each sculpture. We have been to sand sculpture exhibits, but not to ice carving. I love the representation of all the different countries. I hope your week is going well. ♥

Oh my, those are amazing aren't they. I love them all and your grandchildren..I just put some photos up on Facebook with my almost 2 year old grandson and he did not like the snow in his hands...but he kept taking off his mittens....Michelle

While I liked the technical aspect of some of the ones that had so much snow removed and still remained intact, I personally liked the Mongolian-Tserendash sculpture and the one from China. Seeing them in person, I might have had different favorites.

Oh how I would love to see this event! Almost impossible to choose a favorite, but the one from Iceland speaks much to me! Great that your grand daughter and hubby could join you:) This "art" would be great for a little child! Many thanks for linking up these interesting and beautiful ice sculptures with ALL SEASONS! Have a lovely week!

What a lovely place and beautiful sculptures! Team China the Mermaid swimming with the fish was my favorite. Amazing work. The USA was my least favorite. Thank you for sharing. I would definitely have slid down the slide in the truck also. lol Weeeeee Grace xo

This is impressive! I tend to be surprised by people who carved any materials. Not sure hoe they can achieve such an excellent. This is different from what I initially thought. For a moment, I was thinking about ice but this is snow. #OurWorldTuesday

Pat, it was nice to see these beautiful snow sculptures from the warmth of my home. lol I'd like to see this someday. I think it's amazing how artistic folks are to use blocks of snow to create statues. My favorites were Team USA and Finland. Thank you for sharing and I invite you to you join my not-so WW hop. Have a fototastic day!

They all looked impressive. I have not seen snow sculptures before only ice sculptures which look entirely different. The vision that a sculptor has always amazes me that they can turn a block of ice or snow into something quite beautiful in a relatively short space of time.

Let me be sure that I am leaving a comment this time...have been here a few times and obviously am getting distracted. I have always wanted to visit one of these ice sculpting shows...they are amazing and totally fascinate me. Of these, I am drawn to the swan. Your little granddaughter looks as if she has an appreciation for the art, too.

Wow what amazing talent all the artists have - i love them all! All so original and just fab! I love the Swedish one with the cars perhaps a little more but it is so hard to choose! Will share this - I am sure people on my FB would enjoy seeing the sculptures too!#wanderfulwednesday

I've never seen snow sculptures--these are amazing. Here in Virginia Beach, a similar program for sand sculpture is held the end of September. Loved seeing this. How nice you were able to move to be near your family. They grow up SO FAST, and now you won't miss any of it.

Thanks for taking us along, these sculptures are amazing. At first I thought to myself how could someone put that much work into something that would eventually melt. Then I thought to myself, how is that different from putting a lot of work into a cake :-)Amaliaxo

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Hello and welcome!
I'm Pat, a lifelong New Yorker who has recently moved to a suburb of Denver in the beautiful state of Colorado, so that I can live close to my children and grandchildren. I look forward to learning many new things about my new "mile high" city and I will share them on my blog.
New York City will always be my second home, and I will also continue to share many posts about it.
My blog's name in Italian means a "Thousand Favorite Flowers." I chose this unusual blog name because researching and writing for my blog, and taking photogrpahs for it, is like another "memory flower" that I am collecting in my bouquet of life.
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